Pascrell lauds DoD decision on Ukraine

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-N.J.), a member of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, on June 22 lauded U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Secretary Ashton Carter’s decision to provide military assistance to U.S. NATO allies in order to assist Europe in defending against security threats, including those from Russia. Rep. Pascrell led a bipartisan letter urging Secretary Carter to bolster support for NATO allies, citing Russian aggression in Ukraine as reason to help stabilize the region. “As the administration continues to weigh providing Ukraine with the defensive military assistance Congress has authorized, we respectfully urge you to provide the increase in support and equipment that our NATO allies need for training and exercises in order to defend against further Russian aggression in the region,” the lawmakers wrote. “These measures will bolster the efforts of NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force, which has the support of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain and was designed to ensure NATO is ready to respond swiftly and firmly to new security challenges after President [Vladimir] Putin’s illegal and forcible occupation of Crimea and continued hostilities in eastern Ukraine.” The letter was signed by 15 other members of Congress. (Office of Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr.)